BioCryst surges 30% to a 5-year high as Redditors declare 'BioWar' against short-sellers

• BioCryst Pharmaceuticals jumped to a 5-year high on Monday, fueled by spiking interest from Reddit investors.
• The stock closed 39% higher after surging as much as 41% in intraday trading.
• The move followed a post on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit that called the company "the most undervalued stock in the market."
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals surged 39% to a five-year high on Monday as Reddit investors declared a "BioWar" against short-sellers betting against the stock. The move followed a post on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit that called the company "the most undervalued stock in the market."

The post zeroed in on a new drug known as Orladeyo, a once-daily pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2020 meant to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE). HAE is a genetically rare problem with the immune system that causes swelling and abdominal cramping.

The Reddit post cited the December approval in the US, as well as recent approval in Japan and an expected OK from the European Union in the second quarter of 2021.

In a day, users have since upvoted - the equivalent of being liked or loved on other social media platforms - the post nearly 400 times and commented on it more than 600 times.

The rallies fueled by the Reddit army, as seen in GameStop and AMC Entertainment, underscore the rising influence of retail investors. The stock market frenzy the past days has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Read more: Buy these 26 heavily shorted stocks as retail traders trigger wild rallies in Wall Street's least liked names, Wells Fargo says